Never ending dust.. duct cleaning?
Rault85
14 years ago
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energy_rater_la
14 years agocountryboymo
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Should I have the air ducts cleaned prior to moving in?
Comments (12)You got a good price! My single floor, 2000 sqft costs $450. And IMO it is worth every penny! The price actually is not computed by sqft, but by the number of vents. Ask those subs just who does a full duct cleaning for a couple hundred? *IF* they can name someone, check 'em out, but I think the subs were just blowing hot air. You can DIY -- and it won't be nearly as good as professional, but 1000% better than nothing. Seal the duct entry at the furnace, and all vents other than the one you are working from. Wear a dust-mask and goggles. Use the rods for a chimney brush and attach a slightly-smaller-than-duct-sized bundle of soft rags. Start with the vent farthest from the furnace. Run rag-bundle through the duct as far as you can reach, swirling and brushing the dust towards you as you pull the rod back. Vacuum the accumulated debris. Do not swear at the amount of splfft. Repeat the brush-swipe until there are no more wood chips, screws, nails, metal filings, plasterdust or sawdust. Repeat the process at each vent opening. The last vent should be the one at the furnace. Vacuum that vent and duct. Remove the seals from all vents. Done. The first time I DIY'd mine Without skill or practice, (and not the proper tools) it took me ten hours . It takes a pro about 2 hours AND he does a vacuum of all duct surfaces -- much better than brush alone. Please consider not only the health aspects [who really wants to breathe dust-laden air??] but remember that not cleaning the ducts will just about guarantee your furnace is going to get dust-filled, which is not good for the electronic controlss and worse for the burners and mechanical parts. Cleaning the furnace --assuming it won't need repairs-- will cost almost the same as the preventive duct-cleaning. In fact, read the HVAC warranty carefully, because sawdust and plaster-dust deliberately left in the ducts just might void it....See MoreDuct cleaning
Comments (29)Our air return is a kind of joke - the furnace is in a closet type thing on a raised platform (vented to roof) and the air return comes in through the bottom through what is essentially a sectioned off crawl space. It's boarded up but not airtight, and there is a bare concrete floor under there. It also looks filthy and I tried to vacuum out what I could reach with my own vacuum but I couldn't reach in there very effectively. In California our temperature rarely get down below 40F at night in the winter, and we like to sleep cold anyway so efficiency of the heating is not a big concern for us. THat's why we only bought an 80% efficiency furnace in our climate the pay off tim for a 90% or higher furnace is over 40 years. So I don't think sealing the ducts would be worth our money since we don't heat the house to much of a temperature differential anyway - just take the chill off. I'm allergic to a lot of stuff and have allergy triggered asthma which means any respiratory irritants/particles can potentially cause me breathing problems. I think I will go ahead with this, read a lot of reviews on yelp and chose a company that does HVAC installs as well as cleaning, and has all 5 star reviews - and no reports of breaking anyone's ductwork....See MoreDuct cleaning?
Comments (3)Not a scam- witness the photo of the vacuum unit after I had the ducts cleaned before moving into our new house. It was amazing- total cost $350. The house stunk beforehand and smelled fresh as a daisy afterwards. I can't believe the previous oners lived here with all that animal hair and dirt- it's just so nasty. I am ever so glad I had it done- and I'll do it every 10 years or so as long as I own pets. No holes were made in our ducts- everything was accessed through our basement where the furnace is located. They just rolled in a huge contraption and hooked the suction unit up to the furnace, covered all the vents, and sucked the everlovin' crap out of it. Then they introduced the rotating swivel brush that snakes all through everything, then resucked. The entire process took about 4 hours....See MoreThe nighmare never ends
Comments (5)First of all i have never met a expert working in a paint store. They just sell products. They might know there products but they dont know how to apply those products. Pro Classic oil is a very good product. If your using white be prepared because it will yellow over time. Even though its a great self leveling product, no matter how you brush it, mix it, what ever, you will see brush strokes. If you want a factory finish you have to spray it on. Not with a wagner either. You have to use a fine finish sprayer. Graco 395 Profinish is what i prefer. Of course this will set you back $2200.00. It takes months if not years to learn how to use a sprayer. Its a lot harder then people think. It takes most people months if not years to get good at a sprayer. In your case I would simply lightly sand with a 320 grit sandpaper to get the fuzz off from the rollers. Throw away those rollers. Buy a 4 or 6 inch foam roller. NOT A 1". Less passes the lest chance of leaving roller marks. Thin your paint no more than 10%. Apply and let dry. You will probably have to do a total of three coats. With the proper dry times listed on the can. Usually 24 hours between coats. You can LIGHTLY sand in between coats using 320 grit. Anything ruffer leaves sanding scratches. Hopefully this info helps you. Good luck. This is why we charge $2500-$4000 per cabinet job....See Moredougl99
14 years agopkspigs
14 years agoenergy_rater_la
14 years agosnoringcow
14 years agoMini-Split Warehouse
3 years ago
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